Ernest J. Carston, 88

Owner Of Famed Tie Store On City's Magnificent Mile

March 26, 2001|By Julie Deardorff, Tribune staff reporter.

In the 1940s, Ernest J. Carston made his living going door-to-door selling ties. Eventually, he not only had a store, Carston Original Cravats, but a customer list that included former President Lyndon Johnson, conductor Georg Solti, U.S. Sen. Barry Goldwater and pianist Vladimir Horowitz.

Mr. Carston, 88, died Wednesday, March 21, at Self Help Home in Chicago, a retirement and long term care facility.

"He was very gentlemanly and bright," said his daughter, Eve Berland.

Born in Germany, Mr. Carston grew up in a Prussian province now located in Poland, where his family worked in the retail clothing business. He came to the United States during Adolph Hitler's rise in the 1930s and settled in Chicago, followed by his wife, Hilde Alexander, and her daughter, Eve.

In 1944 Mr. Carston and his wife opened Carston Original Cravats in the Pittsfield Building, 55 E. Washington St., a small business where she designed ties and he took care of manufacturing and operating the business. Soon they wanted a more fashionable location, so they moved to 735 N. Michigan Ave. and became one of the original high-fashion stores on the Magnificent Mile.

The couple traveled to Switzerland, France and Italy to find and import silk. The cutting, sewing and embroidery of the ties were done on the site behind the sales area. Before long they found themselves battling the arrival of larger department stores. In 1974 their building was scheduled to be razed to make way for Nieman Marcus, and they moved to 936 N. Michigan Ave. Mr. Carston was able to remain there until 1979, when, again, their building was demolished, this time to make way for One Magnificent Mile.

"He exemplified quietness and charm," said his nephew Bob Seidemann. "He was a peaceful type of person who was relaxing to be around."

After retirement Mr. Carston did light clerical work for a law firm. He and his wife also traveled and enjoyed the view from their apartment overlooking Oak Street Beach.

Hilde died in 1994, and Mr. Carston moved to the Self Help Home, where he worked in the library and battled Parkinson's disease in the last few years of his life.

In addition to his daughter and nephew, he is survived by two grandsons and five great-grandchildren. Services were held.